Hoopster on HARMONY, Jan 7-14 2017 REVIEW w/lots of photos

[Hoopster95]

Speaking of dinner, we had yet to see any of the dining room(s), so we made our way down to deck 5 and entered Silk. I had not seen the "Dynamic Diningfied" MDR of the Oasis Class ships as of yet so I was interested to see how the venues differentiated from each floor from American Icon on Deck 3 up to the Grande and finally Silk. I think RCL did a fabulous job in decor blending the 3 rooms since DD was scrapped, and I thought the dining room was beautiful. Let's start with Silk

 

 

 

 

Sea day lunch service was in full swing with a hot buffet and the Tutti Frutti salad bar

 

 

 

I loved the spacing of the room, with the circular open "slits" which added light and a more open feeling, let alone interesting perspectives up or down when looking through them

 

 

 

The focal point of the MDR is the great mural on the back wall as well as the interesting chandelier, unlike anything I've yet to see on a RCL ship

 

 

[Hoopster95]

We made our way down to the Grande for some more pictures and comparison. Again, I really loved what they did on this deck as well, beautiful artwork and spacing, very nice furniture, very contemporary

 

 

 

 

This was my favorite deck in he MDR. Check out the carpet, fabric on the chairs, and just the general view point and site lines

 

 

 

 

And one last view point done onto the buffet. I did not go down into American Icon as I find it awkward and I don't feel it's overly proper to take pictures of others, at least from closer vantage points, during a meal service... I try to limit these types of pictures unless I know there's no other chance. I di American Icon for debarkation breakfast and took a few photos on that final day that I'll share with you at the end of the review

 

 

[Hoopster95]

While not at all as whimsical as the Wonderland on Quantum, I found this venue really appealing more so for it's location and view out over the Boardwalk. The Quantum wonderland was laced with a ton of "Alice in Wonderland"-like furniture and so forth... here on Harmony it's toned down. There's still a lot of fun little things to take a look at which you can easily miss if you just show up for dinner.

 

 

 

That's a golden door up ahead in the middle of the room... yes it opens! Makes for an interesting photo op as you get to the Maitre'D's desk.

 

 

 

As mentioned, great view of the Boardwalk. You enter Wonderland on deck on deck 10... here is the Maitre'D's desk, waiting area and the Wonderland Bar (where you can enjoy a drink without eating dinner). Below is the seating area.

 

 

 

[Hoopster95]

Here are a few more pics of the furniture. Note the paint brushes on the set tables... I'll get to these on Day 3 review when we dine here

 

 

 

 

Some of the artwork on the wall is very cool, especially the trim moldings and fireplace mantle that seemingly disappears into the wall

 

 

 

 

Wrap your brain around this 90 degree chair lol! Yes it is used as an actual seat at one of the tables.

 

 

 

A final look back at the room. If you've never been to Wonderland, I fully recommend it... just a really nice venue and great experience

 

[Hoopster95]

It was time to head up to the Puzzle Break located on Deck 14 right at the main entrance to all of the Adventure Ocean venues. We had a bit of time and I walked around the Adventure Ocean area.... impressive actually. I have a few pics but won't bore you with them here... let's get to the Puzzle Break.

 

Immediately in from the elevator lobby is the Rubicon Lobby. The premise is that you are on a space ship, "The Rubicon", when all systems fail. You have 60 minutes before all life support systems go off line, so you have to fix The Rubicon in order to save yourself from a stellar demise!

 

(Que the Star Wars intro music)

 

 

 

A video is played for you explaining what is going to happen. There are a few clues in what this guy says that I realize probably would've helped so pay close attention

 

 

 

Once the video is done, the RCL staff member escorts you in, gives a starting blurb, and then sets you off without a clue of what to do other than pointing out that the room is filled with buttons, pipes, numbered/lettered boxes with key holes, etc... a ton of things to look at, prod, feel, knobs to turn, labels to read, etc etc. The trick is things need to be discovered in sequence in order to go from one step to another

 

 

 

This was not easy!! You have to fiddle with buttons, look at the numbers/letters, connect cables, try to find matching things, etc... no way you an do this on your own so team work is imperative. Certain stages open locked rooms behind glass doors where further tasks and clues or given.

 

 

 

 

We did not get out in time. In retrospect I wish the RCL staff member didn't tell us how to finish the puzzle as I would've come back a 2nd time to figure it out, but he went through all the steps of what we did right and also how to finish the last step. So even though the screens at the back of the picture say "Mission Successful" this was only after he went through the final steps to complete the mission for us. He said at the point we were at only about 25% of the groups make it there... we weren't far off as we had only 1 major task left to figure out.

 

I rate this as a must do activity... it was really interesting and fun

 

[Hoopster95]

Here's a good one for you all.... I read so much about how poor and small the Windjammer was on Oasis back in 2013 that on that sailing I never once set foot into the Windjammer... can you believe it? The entire cruise. So now we were going to the WJ for lunch and it'll be first time to see the WJ on an Oasis Class ship

 

Having finished the Puzzle Break activity right below, we quickly made our way up the stairs... quite hilariously actually because we didn't take the elevator up I had forgotten how the regular stairs ended on 15 and you had to take these larger center stairs to deck 16 and 17. From that vantage point of the stairs there's a great view looking down onto Central Park

 

 

 

 

So having the seed planted in my head that this WJ was going to be small for this size of ship, I didn't know what to expect... I was really pleased that all cruisers were ushered through the hand washing stations 1st and then it opened up to the buffet areas which I feel were quite large and extremely well layed out. The various times we were up there the food was excellent, especially the muesli station with various condiments and fresh fruit. At lunch the food looked great... I opted for the Indian/Asian both times and it was excellent. I'd take the layout and spacing of this WJ over any Voyager/Freedom Class WJ any day of the week.

 

 

We grabbed a table at the back windows looking out over the Boardwalk and Sports Deck, our first real look out there.... a ghost-town! The bad weather has driven most everyone inside, you can see only 3-4 people at the Flowrider for example and well as on the Sports Court.

 

 

 

 

I loved the various adages they had on the ceiling, some really good ones. I thought this one was most appropriate for me personally:

"I haven't been everywhere but it's on my list"

 

[Hoopster95]

I put my camera away for the rest of the afternoon. We had the chance to sit on our balcony a bit and chill out at a couple of spots as we made our way back to the cabin to get ready for the evening.

 

First up was Chops... I did not take pics of every dish, however I can tell you I had 2 starters that I have reported on in a past review (Legend) and have come up with the exact same conclusion: Crabcake is great, the bacon is probably the worst thing on the menu... sigh, why did I order it again! lol

 

Now, when anyone thinks of Chop's, everyone thinks of filet, yes? Not me, one of my favorite meals ever on any RCL ship was on Legend where I tried the Tuna. I was set on it here and it did not disappoint. Totally awesome!!! If you are a Tuna Tataki/sashimi fan, this is Izumi quality tuna done perfectly. Remember gf is a major foodie so I value her input... she ordered the filet and it was perfect. We decided then and there to cancel our 2nd Jamie's visit on the final day and replace it with Chops. For the record, Chops was determined to be both of ours favorite restaurant on this ship ahead of all the others... night 7 did not disappoint either.

 

 

 

The Captain's reception was tonight in the Promenade as well, and we walked through to check things out. Capt Johnny was taking pictures by the vintage car and the line-up was very long.

 

We opted to head to Studio B as we had reservations for 1887: A Journey in Time ice show. We had a ball watching two different cruisers trying to reserve 8-10 seats in the first couple of rows and getting into slight verbal altercations. I still fail to understand how some humans are so ignorant... right up to when the lights were dimming they were trying to save a couple of seats and didn't want to give them up to an older couple... the older couple simply said "the show is starting" and barged right in front with his wife and sat down... good for them, but it shouldn't have to come to that.

 

Regarding the actual show... just ok. I have seen better stories

The costumes and sets... top notch

The "special" entertainer was a "bubble maker". I'm not joking. I wish I had taken a picture but I was too flabbergasted to believe RCL was paying this person to do what she was doing for 5 minutes and call it entertainment.She basically makes huge bubbles in a few different shapes and pretends it's a big deal. Obviously I wasn't impressed.

The actual skating... uninspiring I have seen and applauded much better performances in the past.

You never know what you're going to get, yes? One day all the performers could be spot on and and the show is amazing, the next just so-so. I hope this was one of those so-so days and hope it was much better for my fellow cruisers on the other shows

 

 

 

We came back up to the Promenade and decided to try out the Rising Tide Bar, so sipping on a Manhattan we enjoyed riding up/down a couple of times and looking around as the bar moved through it's course

 

 

 

I've got no other pictures for the rest of the night! We hung at the Promenade checking out the merchandise and then at Boleros for a while but we were totally bagged as I figure the events of the last couple of days really took their toll. Off to bed early this evening

[Hoopster95]

 

 

 

 

[perfect match]

I have been following along here, and I am really enjoying your review of Harmony. We do not have any plans to sail on her - at least not yet! The ship looks beautiful, so I think we will have to give her a try. :cool:

[vacationlover_mn]

Thx for the photos of the app!

 

 

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[Kimmie96]

I love your review. We will be on HOTS for the June 3rd sailing. This is our first cruise with RC. (2 Disney cruises). I love reading the daily planners but I am having a hard time zooming in to read them. Have you ever thought of uploading them to Issuu? Thank you for all the great info and tips[emoji7]

 

 

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[caseykat]

Hoopster, I have some questions for you and am having trouble emailing you. Can you contact me at ekatzjkatz@aol dot com

[melted2002]

following

[Hoopster95]

Today's review includes:

 

• Top Tier welcome back (Capt. Johnny)
  
• A cold and windy stay in the Solarium
  
• An at sea medical evacuation
  
• Wonderland
  
• Some great night time photos
  
• The Fine Line - Aqua Theatre Show
  

 

 

We had talked the last couple of days of how disappointing the weather had been, not only for the first two days of the cruise but also our first week in Cancun. We've had our share of wind, rain periods, lots of clouds... and tons of stress! re flights etc... and we really ready to feel the warm Caribbean sun, and soon! So waking up today I was eager to take a look outside... promising! A few clouds but quite a bit of blue sky all around and relatively warm. A took a a couple pics as I always do outside my balcony, but I'll share this one below so that you can see the proximity of 10329 to the Rock Wall. I put my arm out and snapped this shot. The Rock Wall landing is also used by the flying acrobats performing during The Fine Line as their entry point.

 

 

 

We decided to try Johnny Rockets breakfast this morning... a new event for me. It was nice to sit outside for breakfast. For those who have never tried it, it's a sit down order menu with a coupe of typical selections like bacon/eggs, omelette.. nothing earth shattering. Truthful I enjoyed the muesli & smoked salmon bagels in both the lounge and WJ + the breakfast sandwiches & breakfast burritos and the Park Cafe are awesome, so once was enough and it was nice to try it out. I snapped this pick from my table looking up at the artwork of the rear wing

 

 

 

I had totally forgotten about the Top Tier event to be held in the Aqua Theatre this morning. When we initially sat for breakfast the staff was just setting up, and right thereafter more staff showed up... it was then I realized the party would start soon. Right when we finished breakfast Capt Johnny rolled in with his segway!

 

 

 

This was my only interaction with the Capt. for this cruise. I was able to say hello and not much else. I was hoping to interact again at some point but there was no Bridge Tour offered to me as D+, and the All Access tour was scheduled at the same time as Cap[t. Corner, so Capt. Johnny wasn't on the Bridge that day either. I feel that $150 per person should allow his time up there even for a minute to say hello as it was something many people were hoping for and discussed on the tour until I chimed in that the Capt. Corner was at the same time.

 

 

 

We hung out a bit when the event started, but it was extremely poorly attended, only half the Theatre was occupied. We were aching to get some down time either up on pool deck in the sun so we bailed the event early and headed to our room, where while getting ready for the day we were able to see the end of the event. During the event the top three cruisers were recognized, with the 1st and 2nd top very close to each other at approx 1250 points.

 

I took a couple of pics of Capt Johnny with the main officers on parade, and the final one with CD Bobby Brown. Btw Abe was also present, but never once made public that he was on board. I guess he's there as an assistant or advisory role?? I don't know, I didn't ask.

 

 

[Hoopster95]

This was a great time to take a few more pictures while I had the chance... I took a few more shots of the cabin and view just to be able to remember the site lines and also for the purpose of this review.

Here's your view immediately at the sliding door.

 

 

 

Stepping back a bit to the other side of the bed....

 

 

 

Lay down, head on the pillow, your view is opposite to the Aqua Theatre. As you can see, very easy to see balconies across from you, and especially at night with lights on it is very easy to inside the cabins as well! In other words, at night keep your drapes closed or else the people opposite from you can see everything

 

 

 

The flat panel TV at the foot of the bed is excellent, and the camera view is fantastic too... very easy to turn this on and see what's going on outside if you're in an interior cabin for example.

 

 

 

If you're wanting to sit and/or dress in the seating area of the room, the flat screen can be pulled out at an angle to suit your needs to watch the shore excursion channel, check your messages and accounts, etc.

By the way, my invites to the Galley Tour, Back Stage Tour, and other such messages were paperless... unless you check your messages on your screen you could miss everything!

 

 

 

Lastly, one more picture of the closet... a ton of room for as this was my side with the two drawers below. The closet on the right was a full closet, and gf had all the full set of drawers opposite where the desk is

 

[Hoopster95]

It was about 11am. Let's see.... about 5200 passengers all hunkered down the last couple of days/nights with wind, cooler weather, etc. What do you think everybody wants to do today on a sea day? Yep, you don't need to be a brain surgeon to figure this one out. The pool deck was a mess... seriously. It's one thing not to have a single lounger available anywhere, and I looked everywhere, but many turned their loungers to the sun, thus cutting off walking areas and so forth. There were plenty of kids on board as well... heck, Harmony and Oasis Class in general is the perfect family ship with tons of kids stuff, yes?.. but many of the excited kids were somewhat out of control, teenagers too. This was an ongoing issue for me throughout the cruise even in the inside venues that I have never experienced before. .

 

As an added comment, This was the most crowded I have ever felt on any RCL ship. I am not sure how many cabins Harmony has in comparison to Oasis, but I sailed Oasis before her drydock where she had cabins added and I swear Oasis was not as crowded. The crowding was just not here at the pool, it was everywhere. I was amazed... gf agreed.... having sailed Explorer and Adventure earlier this year with me, we had not been this crowded on those two ships.

 

 

 

And try to get on the slides today.... This was easily a 1/2 hour wait for a 15 second slide. Obviously we bailed on the pool deck idea and tried for the Solarium. The Solarium was uber busy too with almost nowhere to sit, but we did find two loungers with mostly shade unfortunately which we called home for a while while I walked around in the sun for a while.

 

 

 

The winds and in clement weather that cancelled fine-line and drove cruisers inside the nights before had taken it's toll on several of the Solarium panels. In all I saw at least 5 that were ripped like this one, or the full panel outright missing altogether.

 

 

 

 

I didn't realize the suites also had a private Solarium area.... there it is behind me looking straight back

 

 

 

The sun went in and out of the clouds for the remainder of the day... I guess Capt Johnny just couldn't outrun the so-so weather after all. Not only that, I really learned to hate the open slats of the Solarium roof... it was so very windy and cool the entire time we were there that I had to mostly wear a shirt or wrap up in a towel. Many others did the same. Around lunch time we were able to move from our "shady" loungers up to the top deck of the Solarium into a couple of nicer padded chairs which were abandoned as many cruisers I think bailed once the wind and cold was evidently there to stay for the day. We just hunkered down for a bit and made the best of it.

 

[Crewzer33]

How many electrical outlets are in your stateroom (and if any are not in obvious spots, location please) and are there any USB charging ports? (First time having three in a stateroom with electronics.) Enjoying your review, thanks!

Edited January 21, 2017 by Crewzer33

[Hoopster95]

There was foreshadowing the day before... an alpha alpha alpha was given and then sometime later a request for anyone with O- blood. I had forgotten all about it when all of a sudden a bunch of officers and staff began clearing out the lower deck of the Solarium and driving people to the top. We were told that the medical evacuation was going to happen and a helicopter was coming. A few minutes later an announcement was made of the same.

 

Many fellow cruisers hung around standing on the rails, and while we had thought about getting out of the cool weather just before the announcement happened, we decided to stay to see what happens as well. It took a very long time (I estimate about an hour) and many people I think bailed as the railings were packed when the announcement was made an hour ago but were relatively clear now... but all of a sudden the roar of the helicopter was heard and the crowd quickly reassembled.

 

 

 

The chopper made several passes from the side to the front and then around the ship (4 if I remember correctly) and a couple of times hovered a bit, I was positive to gauge speed and distance. I had mentioned to the gf the many discussions I had read about here on CC about the choppers NOT landing on the helipad as it's too dangerous, instead opting for a lift. I was under that assumption especially with the many fly bys and the length of time the chopper was spending in the air circling the ship.

 

 

 

A british chap beside me, whom I learned after was in the British Navy), heard my conversation and simply said "Why can't they land? They do it all the time on aircraft carriers". Sure enough, the whole time I thought these guys were not going to land on the helipad, with the increasing crescendo of the propellers filling the Solarium, they very slowly descended to the helipad...

and within about 10 sec of going below the view which I had the eruption of applause occurred from the cruisers below me who had somewhat a clearer view of the landing. The chopper kept the engines on, although I did hear it throttle down for sure, and stayed there at least 15 minutes until throttling full on, and pulling up and immediately away from Harmony. God speed to that fellow cruiser.

 

So here it is... 100% proof that helicopters do in fact land on RCL's helipads.

 

 

 

 

With the excitement over, we really needed to get out of that cold and windy Solarium! We were chilled. Walking back out to the pool deck it was definitely warmer out there as any wind is obviously blocked. But it was even crazier than before as far as loungers strewn all over the place and totally crowded. Gf asked me if there was anywhere we can go where there's room and sun and I immediately thought about the aft Rock Climbing wall deck. So we headed back there and sure enough, not a single soul using the chairs there

 

 

 

We hung out there about an hour with our first real consistent sun of the entire first 3 days of this cruise. I took some more pics all around, I went to grab Margarita's down at the Sabor Bar, and we had some nice down time before heading back up to our cabin to get ready for evening dinner and events

 

[Grandma Petania]

Gf asked me if there was anywhere we can go where there's room and sun and I immediately thought about the aft Rock Climbing wall deck. So we headed back there and sure enough, not a single soul using the chairs there

Glad to know that those two aft decks near the rock climbing walls are available to the public. I hope not too many of our fellow travelers next week will know about them. We have a balcony overlooking Central Park, so this will be a nice place for us to lounge and view the ocean.

[Hoopster95]

How many electrical outlets are in your stateroom (and if any are not in obvious spots, location please) and are there any USB charging ports? (First time having three in a stateroom with electronics.) Enjoying your review, thanks!

 

Hi Crewzer. See the lower counter top just before the drawers on the left? That's a 4ft long "make-up" counter/desk. You'll find 3 electrical outlets there.

Immediately between the closet and the bed is a small nightstand. There is also an electrical outlet there on that nightstand, right beside your pillow basically.

 

[Hoopster95]

I feel Harmony was more beautiful at night then during the day. I was able to snap several shots from my balcony before heading out for dinner

 

 

 

 

 

Very cool right!? We timed our dinner just right, taking one of our bottles of wine to Wonderland first in order to be chilled for us while we visited the DL for a bit. During our travels to/from the DL I took note that Central Park was just gorgeous lit up at night, and that we would have to come back after dinner for a walk through and picture taking. In the meantime I took an interesting shot here looking straight up at the slides hanging over top

 

 

 

I mention the art again all over the ship... the pictures don't justify the size and how it looks in person. I found myself much more than usual on other ships ensuring that I actually admire the art as I travel from floor to floor and stop the odd time to read the description on those that I found interesting

 

 

[Hoopster95]

And now it was time for Wonderland... we were looking forward to the dinner and experience. On my Royal IQ ap I could see that Wonderland, like all other pay venues mind you, was sold out pretty much for the entire cruise except for the odd 9pm ro 5:30pm time slot. Upon arriving there were several others waiting to be seated and there were already a couple of larger groups being served in the dining room itself

 

 

 

 

We were seated in a 2 top, one row away from the windows pretty much dead center of the room. Our waiter, Vinko, brought out the tablet that you see below... I truly didn't get it at first but quickly understand as he began explaining that the little container he brought was to dip the paint brush into... it had a "magic" solution that would make the menu appear when you paint it! What an awesome way to start this experience

 

 

 

 

[Hoopster95]

And there you have it! 5 courses made up of "Sun, Ice, Fire, Sea, and Earth".

I read the menu and quickly determined I had no clue what to order, it was all so whimsical and interesting... all of it. Vinko explained a couple of things on the menu and I asked what the most popular "specialties" are and gf mentioned her lactose intolerance (cream and cheese). Vinko just said sit back, relax, I'm going to bring out a 5 course dinner for both of you, one from each category and I'll take care of you. Perfect! lol. We had no clue at all what we were going to get which made it even more fun when the "show" started... and it really was a show.... from the smoke pouring out of the covered dish with the smoked eggs to the chocolate ball melting at the end, what a blast we had... and it was all delish and super interesting. I don't want to give away and show you everything we ate, but here's a few. This stuff should be a surprise for all of you as that's half the fun!

 

 

 

This was my main course

 

 

And this desert definitely needs video (I did but won't share ion this review!!!). I'm guessing you could google and you'll find a youtube video, but again I believe you should experience the presentation for yourself. This was by far the best desert of this sailing

 

 

 

We finished dinner, and thanked (and tipped!) Vinko for a very nice meal and basically the entertainment. What a cool thing to do, I recommend Wonderland to everyone just once.

Leaving the venu I took a couple of final shots

 

 

 

 

I can totally remember this dinner and every course! What a very cool evening dinner, extremely memorable. This meal was tied with Chops as our favorite venues... I don't think I can do Wonderland twice on one sailing whereas Chops there's minimum 3 different meals I can put together so we ended up booking Chops for another visit on the last night rather than Wonderland. Having said that, I think Wonderland is a must do for any of you interested to try the change and be entertained

[BadgerFBfan]

Got to agree with you, Hoopster95. We were also on this sailing and wife, son, and I thought Wonderland was a definite highlight, and Vinko was great. Definitely a do not miss experience!

 

 

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[inna61]

Is 150 Central Park included in the dining package?

 

Thank you for your awesome review!